Sinhagad is a hill fortress located at around 49 km southwest of the city of Pune, India. Some of the information available about this fort, suggests that the fort could have been built 2000 years ago.The caves and the carvings in the Kaundinyeshwar temple stand as proofs for the same.
Previously known as Kondhana, the fort had been the site of many battles, most notably the Battle of Sinhagad in 1670.Perched on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range in the Sahyadri Mountains, the fort is situated on a hill about 760 metres above ground and 1,312 metres above mean sea level.
The Sinhagad (Lion’s Fort) was strategically built to provide natural protection due to its very steep slope . The walls and bastions were constructed only at key places. There are two gates to enter the fort, the Kalyan Darwaza and Pune Darwaza, positioned at the south-east and northeast ends.The fort was also strategically located at the centre of a string of other Maratha Empire forts such as Rajgad Fort, Purandar Fort and Torna Fort.
The Sinhagad Fort was initially known as “Kondhana” after the sage Kaundinya. The Kaundinyeshwar temple coupled with the caves and carvings indicates that the fort had probably been built around two thousand years ago.
Shahaji Bhosale, as the commander of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, was entrusted with the control of the Pune region. His son Shivaji, refused to accept the Adilshahi and initiated the task of setting up Swarajya. Shivaji gained control of Kondana in 1647 by convincing Siddi Amber, the Adilshahi Sardar who controlled the fort, that he, the son of Shahaji Bhosale, could manage the fort’s defenses optimally. Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande played a key role in this activity. Adil Shah jailed Siddi Amber for this treasonous act and schemed to get it back. He imprisoned Shahaji Bhosale for a concocted crime and informed Shivaji. In 1649, Adil Shah traded the fort for Shahaji’s release. Shivaji recaptured it in 1656 again with the help of Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande who convinced the Fort commander by giving land in the newly created Khed Shivapur village and peacefully gained control of the fort.
This fort saw attacks by Mughals in 1662, 1663, and 1665. In 1664, Shaista Khan, a Mughal general, tried to bribe the people of the fort to hand it over to him but was unsuccessful.
Through the Treaty of Purandar, the fort passed into the hands of the Mughal army chief Mirza Raja Jai Singh I in the year 1665.
In 1670, Shivaji reconquered the fort for the third time through his Subedar, Tanaji Malusare in Battle of Sinhagad, and the fort came and stayed under the Maratha rule till 1689 A.D.
After the death of Sambhaji, the Mughals regained control of the fort. The Marathas headed by “Sardar Balkawade”, recaptured it in 1693. Rajaram I took asylum in this fort during a Mogul raid on Satara but died in the Sinhagad Fort on 3 March 1700 A.D.
In 1703, Aurangzeb conquered the fort. In 1706, it once again went into the hands of the Maratha’s. Panaji Shivdev of Sangola, Visaji Chafer, and the Pant Pratinidhis played a key role in this battle. The fort remained under Maratha’s rule till the year 1818, after which the British conquered it.
